Public Opinion Monitoring Unit

The European Parliament stands for European democracy. We help connect it to people.  

This entails providing complete and impartial information to citizens and media about the European Parliament (EP), and assisting Members in their communication activities. The Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM) strives to reach and engage the right audience with the right message at the right time and in doing so, deliver world-class communication. We are committed communication professionals coming from various professional and academic backgrounds.

The Public Opinion Monitoring Unit is Parliament’s hub for all things audience insight data: we regularly conduct and publish public opinion surveys (Eurobarometer) for the European Parliament. These surveys allow us to get a deep insight into citizens’ views, attitudes and preferences on the European Union, the European Parliament and current EU activities. Eurobarometer surveys are among the most respected and trustworthy survey tools on the EU.

Our job is to make the data usable and ‘actionable’ in a multitude of ways: by offering Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) targeted, relevant and timely insights, by informing the media about public opinion relevant to ongoing policy debates and, last but not least, by providing the foundation of DG Communication’s data driven communication and campaign activities and helping to define the Parliament’s communication strategy.

Analysing data down to a microdata level, finding relevant correlations and analytical insight is a key component of the unit’s tasks, including the definition of relevant target groups for Parliament’s communication activities. Our second key activity is carefully tracking changes in the political landscape in the EU Member States.

We follow elections, referenda and political developments in the Member States with a view to their relevance and consequence for the European Union and the composition of the European Parliament. We publish voting intention trends for all EU Member States and are responsible for providing the projection for the overall results of the European elections.

The graphic designer for the Public Opinion Monitoring Unit is in charge of crafting data-driven visuals that communicate complex information in an effective, attractive and engaging way.

The role involves understanding the data and its message (comprehend the information, its structure and context), collaborating (with data analysts or domain experts in order to grasp the insights conveyed by the data), defining design’s purpose (establish the objectives of the visualizations and layouts), selecting visualization types (determine the most appropriate way to communicate the intended message), designing layouts (create the overall look, considering placement and aesthetic aspects of graphic elements - typography, iconography, illustrations), applying design principles (e.g. colour theory, hierarchy, contrast) and the latest EP Brand Book guidelines (consistency is important in maintaining a cohesive look across all POMU products), incorporating interactivity (depending on the platform or medium the products are crafted for, consider interactivity of elements in order to allow users to explore the information in more detail), ensuring responsiveness (check that the visuals intended for various mediums adapt appropriately to different resolutions and aspect ratios), testing and iterating (assess visuals and templates, gather feedback and improve their effectiveness and user experience), staying updated (keep up with latest tools and their updates to deliver sharp designs).

As a graphic designer the work focuses on:

• Lay-out and typesetting the unit’s reports, presentations and briefings (structure print and digital materials, such as main Eurobarometer publication, executive summaries, key take-aways, country presentations, in English and translated versions and produce their sub-elements, such as covers, headers, typography styles) in accordance with DG COMM’s visual guidelines, while bringing your own creative flair to the products;
• Translating data into custom charts and infographics;
• Creating input for communication on Eurobarometer data and other audience insight data in the unit’s social media channels (i.a. Twitter, LinkedIn covers, cards);
• Providing ad-hoc visual support.

• Graduated preferably in graphic design, visual communication or similar;
• Experienced to a certain extent in that field;
• Understanding data visualisation, with a flair for illustrating complex data relationships;
• Proficient in Adobe programmes (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign);
• Presenting good knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint);
• Apt to work autonomously while being part of different teams and projects;
• Capable of exercising good judgment when interpreting instructions;
• A pro-active thinker, with sense of initiative;
• Proving sound time and priorities management skills;
• Fluent in both written and spoken English.